Boeotian League

The Boeotian League was an alliance of Boeotian Greek city-states that existed from 519 BC to 335 BC. The league's leader was Thebes, while Delphi, Plataea, Orchomenus, Thespiae, and Opos were other major cities in the alliance. Thebes sought to absorb other towns into a single state, but outlying cities resisted this policy, allowing for the formation of a loose federation whose foundation was mainly religious. The Boeotians, however, formed a united front against Persia during the Greco-Persian Wars, although Thebes briefly supported the invaders in 480 BC. From 457 to 447 BC, Athens controlled Thebes, but the people revolted and regained their independence in a battle at Coronea. During the Peloponnesian War, the Boeotians fought zealously against Athens, and they defeated the Athenians at the Battle of Delium in 424 BC. Boeotia later took part in the Corinthian War against Sparta, and Boeotian contingents fought in all the campaigns of Epaminondas against the Spartans. In 335 BC, the destruction of Thebes by Alexander the Great destroyed the political energy of the Boeotians, and they never again pursued an independent policy, instead following the lead of protecting powers, namely Macedon.